Winter Solstice Program
Schedule
5.45 pm + 7:45 pm Doors open to the public
6:00 pm + 8:00 pm: Welcome by MC Brad MacDonald
Despina’s Salimpour Legacy Project -Anja, Deanna, Doreen, Christina, Nora, Teuta + Despina
Tarik Solo
Maki Solo
Tarik’s Huss Group – Cassandra, Melissa, Naomi, Nozomi, Sandra
Han Solo
Brenna Jedi Group - Brenna, Gail, Hillary, Marie, Pamela, Samantha
Gabriela Solo
Despina Solo + Asteria Dance - Anna, Esra, Jessa, Noelle, Priscilla, Despina
Brenna Solo
Gabriela Ah Wah Noss Group - Anya, Catherine, Christine, Deboleena, Ebticem, Enas, Eulalia, Eve, Gail, Giovanna, Iman, Laura, Messi, Pia, Ramya, Sandra, Sidra, Simran
Han + Maki Duet
Winter Solstice - Kaeshi, Aldo, Danielle, Diana, Eulalia, Lexi, Manli, Rivkah
Gabriela’s Hadarians Group - Aleshiya, Angela, Angelica, Anita, Anjali, Anju, Barbara, Catherine, Clara, Melissa, Patricia O, Patricia J, Phyo, Rishma, Valeria
Bow
PERFORMERS (Listed Alphabetically)
Aldo Ruiz (Guest From San Francisco)
Aldo Ruiz is a San Francisco–based dancer, educator, and creative producer. As the mayor of an artistic private camp, he curates performances, coordinates collaborative projects, and teaches dance to a diverse community of artists.
Aldo began his dance journey at age seven, performing Mexican folklórico throughout his school years before discovering flamenco and classical Spanish dance under the guidance of Patricia Nader in Capitola, CA. Over his 34-year flamenco career, he has performed alongside renowned artists including La Tania, Monica, La Chimi, and Yalisa. His stage credits include appearances with the Symphony of San Mateo, Cupertino Symphony, California Symphony, and Walnut Creek Symphony. Aldo also served as a principal dancer in La Traviata at the San Francisco Opera for three seasons.
Brenna Crowley
Brenna Crowley is a NYC-based dancer, choreographer, and instructor known for her fierce, funny, and powerful performances. Since beginning her dance journey in 2004, she has performed coast to coast—featured as a soloist, ensemble member, and collaborator with companies like Solstice Ensemble, Dalia Carella Dance Collective, her own Zilla Dance Project, and many more. With an infectious charisma, she seamlessly blends traditional belly dance with a contemporary twist, creating a mesmerizing spectacle that captivates audiences. A true entertainer, she loves moving to the beats of popular hits, turning each performance into a memorable dance party. A vibrant presence on stage and in the classroom, Brenna currently teaches at Bellyqueen School and continues to share her unique blend of movement through performance and education.
Debbie Despina (Guest Instructor)
Innovative instructor and virtuoso performer Despina is passionately devoted to the art of belly dance. The rich sounds of music from her Greek childhood and the captivating movements of dancers in Greek nightclubs sparked a lifelong love for the dance. Her journey began in 2005 with Fat Chance Belly Dance Style (ATS®), also known as Global Fusion Belly Dance. She later discovered the Salimpour Institute, deepening her technical foundation, and continued her exploration under the guidance of world-renowned choreographer Dalia Carella.
Despina’s distinctive style seamlessly blends modern and vintage belly dance, shaped by her Greek heritage, Dalia Carella, and the Salimpour format. A licensed Salimpour instructor and proud member of the Dalia Carella Dance Collective, she continues to honor and evolve these influences through her work.
You can find Despina performing and teaching throughout NYC and at belly dance festivals across the U.S. In addition to her classes in Astoria and Manhattan, she is a proud guest teacher at the renowned Bellyqueen School. Her classes offer a dynamic, supportive space where students are challenged to dance safely with ease, grace, and power.
Gabriela Figueroa
Gabriela Figueroa’s passionate journey with Middle Eastern dance first began in 2011. She studied with Natalie El-Ghoul, a Middle Eastern and contemporary choreographer at La Fábrica in Guayaquil, Ecuador and also with certified somatic teacher Carolina Cruz, from Quito, Ecuador at Frente de Danza Independiente.
In 2015 Gabriela became a member of Natalia Nazario's multiple award-winning troupe Raks Al Zahra troupe and in 2018, she completed the Bellyqueen Teacher Training Course led by Kaeshi Chai.
Gabriela continues to grow each day by studying different styles such as Middle Eastern folklore, Romani, Flamenco and other modalities contributing to her versatility as both a performer and choreographer. As a proud member of the Bellyqueen school faculty, Gabriela's teaching focuses on history and culture, creating community and integration of mind and body through dance.
Tarik Sultan is one of the world’s best-known pioneers of male Oriental Dance (Belly Dancing). He began his formal training in 1985. In addition to classes, he spent countless hours in the Dance Research Library at Lincoln Center, striving to learn as much as he could about the dance, its history, and the culture from which it originated. In 1988, he traveled to Egypt for the first time, observing the dance in its native homeland. This experience allowed him to distinguish the truth about the dance from the many popular myths created by the media.
Han Luckybee
Han Luckybee is a New York based performer and dance instructor that is fluent in Chinese, Spanish and English. She is passionate about culture, movement and expression. Her dance journey first began when she fell in love with belly dance while training at the Bellyqueen School of Dance. Han completed the 40 hour Bellyqueen Teacher Training course in 2017 and 200 hr yoga teacher training in 2019 in India. She continues to grow her passion for dance by exploring different styles such as Traditional Chinese dance, West African, Contemporary Indian, Ballet, Street Jazz and Reggaeton.
She is featured regularly at "Casa La Femme", an Egyptian restaurant in the west village. Other notable performances include dancing in Bellyqueen's "Journey along the Silk Road' in Milan, Italy, Brooklyn Ballet's "Nutcracker", with the band "Beats Antique" at Brooklyn Steel, and "Ravens Night" at the Birchmere in Washington DC.
She believes in the power of dance and music to connect with oneself, nature, and with others. She loves sharing the joy that dance brings her by guiding her students in her classes.
Kaeshi Chai
Kaeshi Chai, an artist, educator, and environmental advocate, co-founded PURE Globe, an international community for healing and social change. With a rich background in dance, choreography, design, and event production, she has left her artistic imprint globally. She has directed the professional Bellyqueen Company and school for over 20 years. As a member of Bellydance Superstars, Bella Gaia and more, Kaeshi has performed in 48 states and 39 countries. Her current projects include "Nature Stories," bridging art and science for environmental awareness, and "Becoming - Exploring Identity." Kaeshi also contributes to events by Unity Earth, Purpose Earth, and the Global Peace Tribe, showcasing dance and movement meditations. Notably, she performed in the contemporary dance piece "Wildfires" by Spector Dance and created an immersive performance about forest root systems and Winter Solstice for the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco. Kaeshi is a proud member of Evolutionary Leaders, a circle of forward-thinking individuals committed to human, social, and planetary transformation.
Maki Moves
Maki Moves is a dancer and performing artist who relocated to New York city in 2012 from Nagoya, Japan. She has a background in hip hop, Cuban Salsa, Reggaeton, Egyptian and fusion belly dance. She was one of the principal dancers and instructors of Sahara Layla from the Hermes Dance Company and has trained in the Bellyqueen style since 2005. Maki Moves has performed in NYC, Japan, Australia and Thailand and has taken respected Teacher Training programs led by Tamalyn Dallal and Bellyqueen. She was a competition winner with Bellydance Evolution in Sydney, Australia and was selected as the very first belly dance choreographer to be showcased at the prestigious 2014 7th Annual Choreographer's Canvas in NYC.
Tarik Sultan
Inspired by his travels, Tarik began teaching his first class in the early '90s, eager to share all he had learned and observed. Over the years, his talent and dedication to the art have earned him a reputation as a dynamic performer and a gifted, inspiring teacher and choreographer. He has taught many successful seminars across the nation as well as internationally in the UK, Japan, Australia, Trinidad, and Argentina. Some of Tarik’s international performance credits include the Jerusalem Festival, the Dar America Association in Marrakech, Morocco, and Alexandria, Egypt. In 2003, he became one of the first male dancers to perform at the Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival in Cairo, Egypt. Other credits include performances at the United Nations, Lincoln Center, and The Museum of Natural History.
Tarik holds the distinction of being the only male dancer to be featured in the top venues in New York City, such as Casbah Rouge, Mehenata Bulgarian Bar, Babylon, Horus, The Habibi Lounge, and Feluca and 1001 Nights in Brooklyn, NY. From 2003 to 2014, he was the premier dancer at Le Souk in NYC. Until recently, he taught regular weekly classes in NYC, The Bronx, and Jersey City. He is available for private lessons, Zoom classes, private parties, and workshops upon request.